When Ralph Kerr entered his Super M in a 5,000-lb. tractor pull, he went the distance twice -- 318 ft. at 9.6 mph in second gear the first day and 319 ft. at 5.9 mph in first gear the second day. He had power to spare with his 250 hp, V-8 engine and the only parts that weren't stock were the engine, fan and carburetor.
"The IH 390 V-8 came out of a schoolbus and had been modified to burn propane," says Kerr. "I put a gas carburetor on it and dropped it into the Super M. I had to modify the frame rails and replumb the radiator, remove the oil filter and make it remote and use an electric fan to make it all fit under the stock hood."
From the flywheel back, nothing was changed. Even the tractor starter was retained. The toughest part, he says, was matching the two flywheels. A friend of Kerr helped him find center points.
"I learned the value of reverse on a ratchet," says Kerr. "I had to keep taking things apart and putting them back together until I got it right."
"My goal was to convert the tractor with as many stock parts as I could," says Kerr. "I even had three sets of Super M V-8 decals made for it."